Four WW2 bunkers found under Bristol primary schools

Image copyrightBristol City CouncilImage caption Four schools with abandoned bunkers under their playgrounds were found in Bristol

A number of World War Two bunkers have been found under school playgrounds in Bristol, council papers have revealed.

Underground air raid shelters were discovered in the last year at Hillcrest Primary School, Chester Park Infant School, Two Mile Hill School and Air Balloon Primary School.

Two of the bunkers have been filled due to their “very dangerous condition”, the city council’s cabinet was told.

Funds of £75,000 have been assigned to make the other two bunkers safe.

The work forms part of a £2.5m programme of repairs over the next 12 months to primary schools and other Bristol City Council buildings.

Image copyrightBristol City CouncilImage caption The 60m shelter at Hillcrest Primary School – which was in a “very dangerous condition” – has already been filled in with concrete

A report to cabinet members, who met remotely on Tuesday, said: “Last year we identified four schools with underground air raid shelters below their playgrounds.

“It was identified that these were in a poor condition and required to be in-filled. Two of the structures were in very dangerous condition and were dealt with last year.”

Image caption The walls of the bunker at Hillcrest Primary School were covered in graffiti dating back to the 1940s Image copyrightBristol City CouncilImage caption The bomb shelter at Chester Park Infant School has also been in-filled

The walls of the bunker at Hillcrest Primary School were covered in graffiti dating back to the 1940s. It has been filled in with concrete as has the bomb shelter at Chester Park Infant School.

Work on the other two at Two Mile Hill and Air Balloon Primary still needs to be completed.

The council’s capital works programme to various schools and council buildings includes repairs to leaky and crumbling roofs, Victorian windows and doors and improving the “slip resistance” of a mortuary floor.

Addressing the need for the repairs, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees told members: “These are hugely important to the quality of life and education of so many people in Bristol.